This invention relates to animal food compositions and, more particularly, to coherent and stable, flavored animal food compositions adapted to be used in the preparation of canned or expanded pet foods.
In the preparation of canned pet foods, it would be advantageous to include in the formulation a natural flavor material such as cheese. However, when cheese in chunk, pellet or finely divided form is blended into the pet food formulation and the resulting composition is thereafter canned and retorted at, for example, 250.degree. F. (121.degree. C.) for 70 minutes, the cheese initially melts and upon cooling solidifies with adherence to the other ingredients which are present. Thus, the melting and solidification of the cheese during the canning process alters and changes the physical form of the pet food from a discontinuous, particulate type system to a continuous, matrix type system.
Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a coherent and stable, flavored animal food composition which is adapted to be used in the preparation of canned or expanded pet foods and which maintains its physical integrity during the heat treating steps in the processing of such foods.